I had a lot of fun imagining a whole planet for Twoey's species! I based the different plants in the crowd around versions of the puppet from different stage productions, with the one Seymour met looking like the one from the movie, and its parent based on the plant from the original off-broadway production. Hope you enjoy reading!
Happy Halloween!
Audrey was running a bit late for the shuttle, but Seymour couldn't say he minded. Though the coordinates were already plugged in, it wouldn't go anywhere until they told it to, and he wasn't exactly eager to arrive.
There was just so much fuss that always seemed to come up around these plants. He would have been perfectly fine taking one of the ordinary shuttles, but whoever was in charge of that sort of thing on the ship decided that these meetings required one of the fancy ones that was usually reserved for very important guests. While he waited in one of the plush seats, the screen on the wall very insistently chimed every few minutes and tried to offer refreshments, until he finally decided to placate it by letting it set out a tray of snacks to munch on.
He glanced down and fidgeted with his tie, trying to make sure he'd gotten the knot right. He didn't have a reason to get dressed up very often, which meant that suits were far from second nature. He did like the color of this one, at least. Deep green, embroidered with a leaf-like webbing design. Good for blending in as much as he could possibly manage on a planet where he looked completely different from the local life forms. But no matter what he wore, he knew it was pointless to think he'd be able to stay completely unnoticed.
Though he wouldn't complain about being delayed indefinitely, meeting with Audrey was always nice enough that he was still glad when he heard her approach.
"I'm so sorry I'm late! I was trying to make sure I got the dress just right."
He looked up to see Audrey in an emerald gown, draped in an intricate pattern of ivy and woven with vibrant flowers.
He wondered if he should double check the shuttle's temperature controls before they set off. He could swear it had just gotten at least ten degrees warmer.
"Do you think this'll be alright?" Audrey asked. "I tried to make sure I followed the guidelines on the invitation."
"Yeah, you're, um… that's perfect."
Audrey gave a relieved smile. "Oh, good. Should we go then?"
Audrey soon found Drosera to be the greenest planet she had seen in person, though she was a little disappointed that it didn't look much at all like her favorite pictures of Earth. There were plenty of vines and leaves growing all around, but still no grass. It was a fascinating place, but she liked to hope that once she got to Seymour's home, the flowers might look a lot less like they were thinking about biting her.
Seymour had been there enough times that she figured it was best to let him take the lead, and he began guiding her down a pathway through the jungle. It was a large path, one that clearly got traveled by creatures much bigger than the two of them, and the dirt was trampled down with tracks that didn't look as if they had come from feet. The ground was slightly damp, suggesting that it had rained recently, but the planet's sun had since come out again, and the ground had hardened enough that they were walking over soil instead of sinking into puddles of mud.
"Do you know what sort of event they invited us to?" Audrey asked as they walked along.
"One of the leaders has been growing buds that are expected to open today." He explained. "It's supposed to be a casual get-together to celebrate, but gatherings on this planet usually turn into a bunch of showing off and bragging about themselves."
Audrey looked relieved. "I'm glad it's nothing too important. I've been worrying I might accidentally ruin some important meeting or something."
"Don't worry, they send a couple of ambassadors from Earth for that sort of thing." Seymour told her. "Once they realized I was signed on with a starship, they actually wound up hiring these three women from the same street as me, since they were pretty much the only people who could figure out how to get the plants to work with them."
As far as Seymour was concerned, things had very much worked out for the best. He doubted he would have any idea what he was doing trying to handle critical negotiations, but the three of them seemed to have an uncanny talent for figuring out what you wanted and convincing you that their advice was the way to get it. Really, they were remarkably similar to the plants in that regard.
"So the plant you found managed to make friends with some other humans then?" Audrey asked.
"Well, half-humans. The other half is a telepathic species. I'm pretty sure that's why they're so good at what they do."
"Oh, I see."
Audrey started to lag behind, apparently thinking carefully about something, and Seymour slowed down to wait for her.
"Once we get to Earth, I could try to introduce you to them, if you'd like." He offered.
Audrey gave a small nod, but he could tell that she was still worrying about something, even if she tried to sound casual when she spoke up next.
"Seymour, when you lived there… were there a lot of people from other planets?"
He paused to think. He had spent most of his life being so ignored that he hardly knew any of the people who lived nearby, but he could at least remember some of the repeat customers from the shop.
"We had a few neighbors who weren't human." He told her. "There's probably more in other parts of the planet. I don't think anyone moves to that street by choice."
Audrey remained silent, thinking carefully about how many questions she might be able to ask without sounding too desperate to know if it was possible that maybe she could live there someday. They hadn't heard back about her job application yet, and she was trying to enjoy the outing and not worry about it all day, but she supposed it couldn't hurt to do some thinking ahead now that she had more hope of being able to find a new planet she could move to.
But before she could try to ask any more, the two of them reached a clearing, and the sight that greeted her quickly made her forget everything else.
It was a beautiful area. Full of sunlight, and rich soil, and little streams of water running through a snaking system of irrigation. Though it was difficult to focus on all of the ways it had been turned into a perfect place for plants to grow, not when the plants themselves weren't just sitting in the dirt, but actually walking around and talking to each other. Several of them turned to glance at Seymour, she noticed quickly that it didn't seem as if she was attracting the same amount of attention.
The more she looked, the more Audrey was fascinated to see what differences she could pick out to tell them apart. Aside from the variations in how tall they had grown, some of the pods had a longer snout while others were more rounded, many had different patterns, and they seemed to come in just about every shade of green imaginable. Captivated as she was, she didn't notice that one had grown intrigued enough to approach until she found herself face-to-face with a plant that had purple leaves and a pod dotted with colorful spots.
Hardly giving Audrey more than a quick glance, it soon turned to Seymour, took an experimental sniff, then reached out to prod him with one of its vines.
"You're very small. Are you an appetizer?"
Before Seymour could even try to think of how to answer, a different vine shot out to wrap around him, and he was pulled towards an especially leafy plant with a grid of stripes along its pod.
"This is mine." Its deep voice said sternly. "You will not eat my important guest, who has come to shower me with appreciation for my heroics."
Audrey looked over to Seymour, mostly to see if she should worry they were in danger, and partially wondering if that was really the reason they had been brought there. Seymour gave her a look that seemed to say, 'It's easier not to argue.'
As the plant always put it, 'I stopped by and made you famous, now it's your turn.'
After a sharp glare to chase away anyone else nearby hoping to snap up something to eat, the striped pod apparently decided it wanted to impress the more colorful plant. Dropping Seymour again, it moved closer to the other plant, proudly standing tall on its stalk.
"You haven't heard the story, have you? About how I was chosen for a vitally important mission when I was hardly more than a sprout?"
Now standing by Audrey's side again, Seymour leaned in to whisper, "It stole a ship and went zooming off before anyone could stop it.'
Audrey smiled at him and stifled a giggle.
"Of course, most of us had written Earth off as an unoccupied world, but I observed them closely and was smart enough to realize we needed to look outside the plant life."
"It landed in the wholesale flower district thinking it had found a colony."
"These odd little leafless beings inhabit the planet, you see. And they're very lucky my presence brought about successful peace negotiations, because they would've been in some real trouble if I got a chance to use my plans for world conquest."
"… that part's probably true. It's pretty crafty when it wants something."
Once the plant was satisfied that it had thoroughly impressed its audience, it sent the other pod off to spread the story around, and finally turned its attention back to Seymour.
Seymour gave a somewhat forced smile, but Audrey didn't think it looked completely lacking in sincerity when he reached up for a brief moment to place a hand against the pod and said, "It's good to see you again."
She didn't grow up knowing a lot of relatives, but she imagined it was the way one might feel about the kind of family you're glad to see around the holidays, but also glad they live far enough away that you don't have to see them more often than that.
"You haven't grown." The plant noted. "You should try using a trellis if you can't get taller on your own."
Seymour gave a half-hearted nod. During previous visits, he had already tried and failed to convince the plant that he had reached the height he was supposed to be, and that even if he was wearing his red windbreaker when they first met, that didn't mean he could be made taller using the same methods one would use to grow a tomato. Knowing it would be pointless to get into the discussion again, he instead looked over at Audrey and motioned for her to come closer.
"I brought someone I'd like you to meet."
Audrey found it hard not to be at least a little nervous around the large creature, but she trusted Seymour, and she was sure he knew better than anyone whether or not she was safe around it. She held her breath when a few curious vines reached out to touch, but after a few moments, it drew back again without attempting to grab her. Seymour had mentioned that these plants were particular about what species they could feed on, and she was beginning to think that the reason most of them didn't pay her much attention was because she didn't smell like food to them.
The pod moved closer to get a better look at her, and when it leaned back again, Audrey was fairly sure it approved of her. The plant was remarkably expressive somehow, even if it didn't exactly have facial expressions to read.
"I like this creature." The plant announced. "Looks like a dandelion."
To Seymour's relief, Audrey looked flattered at the comparison. Still, he decided to keep the conversation moving before the plant could try to ask if her hair was going to turn white and blow away the way a dandelion's seeds would.
"This is a good friend of mine. She's been helping me a lot with my work back on the ship."
"It's nice to meet you." Audrey added. A vine came out to settle in her hands for a moment, in what seemed to be an attempt at copying a greeting it had learned from humans. "My name's Audrey. What's yours?"
The plant scoffed. "Don't need silly things like that. We recognize each other through the roots." Moving to get a closer look again, it paused to reconsider, realizing that it may have found another interesting tidbit it could go spreading around to impress the crowd. "Then again… if it makes things easier for you fully above-ground creatures, I suppose I could get one of those." It looked back and forth between Audrey and Seymour a few times, then settled on Audrey and nodded decisively. "I'll take yours."
Knowing how difficult it was to talk the plant out of something it had set its mind on, Seymour could only smile sheepishly at Audrey. "I hope you don't mind."
"It's okay, we can both use it." She assured him.
"Alright, you can be Audrey II." He told the plant. "You're lucky. I don't think there's a better name out there."
Audrey's gaze softened, and she looked at him full of affection in a way that made his breath catch.
But as glad as he would have been to stand there and have her look at him that way forever, it was around that moment when a hushed conversation wrapped up between a plant with very spiny leaves and an especially round and squat creature that made him think of a pitcher plant. While the shorter one wandered off, the spiky-leafed plant with a pod covered in knobs and bumps came over to join them.
"You are the one who kept my podling alive. The one who knows everything of plants, yes?"
Seymour's face flushed with embarrassment, and he stammered, "Well, I-I really wouldn't say everything. I'm just trying to learn-"
The younger plant silenced him with a thwack that nearly knocked him over.
"He knows plants better than most of the leafless creatures. Didn't have anyone to talk to but his little garden until I arrived." Indignant at being referred to as a podling when it felt that it had grown to quite an imposing height, the plant was eager to find something impressive to say. "You remember, don't you? How I made First Contact with their species?"
The larger plant immediately responded with a withering glare.
"And what did we learn about invading other planets?"
Stem drooping in exasperation, the Audrey II gave a long-suffering sigh. "Only if the food doesn't know how to talk." Under its breath, it added, "Even if it does make them much easier to manipulate."
Focused on Seymour again, the larger plant continued, "One of the new buds has not opened. I ask that you come look and see what can be done."
Seymour nodded. "Of course, I'm happy to help."
Audrey decided to stay where she was while Seymour was led over to the middle of the clearing. While she might have spent a lot of her life reading about plants, these beings were still new to her, and she worried she would just be in the way while he was trying to work.
It became difficult to get a good look at Seymour through the crowd, but when she could manage to spot him, she could see him crouched next to a yellow-green plant with orange speckles, where he was carefully examining a bud that looked smaller than the already-opened ones.
'He's so gentle.' Audrey found herself thinking as she did her best to watch him work. Anyone else she'd ever known might have been tempted to try prying the small pod open, but she could tell that he was taking a lot of care to make sure he didn't do anything that might damage it.
She lost sight of him for a while as the group of onlookers grew thicker, but eventually, an excited murmur ran through the crowd, and she was sure he must have succeeded.
Seymour made his way out of the center of the clearing and back to her side as soon as he could, and she wasn't sure whether it was because he felt bashful around all the commotion or if he was trying to make sure no one decided to grab him as a snack.
"Just a few dried petals in the way." He explained. "Happens sometimes when it rains just as a bud is starting to bloom, then outside dries out and hardens. I had to cut a few petals off, but it should be able to grow fine now."
Audrey gave him the same affectionate smile as before, and she reached out to squeeze one of his hands in congratulations. Once again, he wished more than anything that they could stay that way forever. But of course, he knew full well that it was lucky to get even a few seconds of peace among a race of very outspoken and talkative plants.
Though the Audrey II knew that the others' attention was occupied with the new bud, it was already plotting that later, it would make sure everyone knew that it was the one who invited the guest that had helped them. Hoping for other news it might be able to share, the plant reached out to grab Seymour's wrist, used another vine to push his sleeve back, then spent a few moments carefully examining his arm before letting out a disappointed hum.
"I see you still haven't had any young ones of your own."
Seymour awkwardly tugged his arm away again. "That's really not how it works for mammals."
The plant thought hard for a moment, then nodded. "I remember! You need cross-pollination."
Turning very red in the face, Seymour mumbled, "Well… something like that, yeah."
Cheerfully, the plant nudged him closer to Audrey. "You should pick this one! You need more green in your bloodline."
Now thoroughly mortified, Seymour objected, "Twoey, you don't just look at someone's traits and pick them!"
The plant gave him a long, rather judgmental look.
"You're a very inefficient species."
Seymour forced back a groan. This was going to be a long visit.
By the time they were back on the shuttle and headed towards the Viridian, Audrey thought that Seymour looked incredibly relieved to be away from the plants again. She had certainly found them interesting to meet, and she didn't think she would mind going to visit again someday, but she also had to admit that she was relieved it was just the two of them now. It seemed that in a race of plants, personal space was somewhat of a foreign concept. She knew they didn't mean any harm, but she was also glad that Seymour certainly wasn't the sort to start grabbing at her without bothering to worry if she minded.
They crept through the hallways quietly, knowing that it was late enough that there would be people trying to sleep. Seymour was glad for the silence. He had always found crowds draining, especially when they were made up of a large amount of creatures who didn't tend to care if they were being invasive, and he didn't think he had the energy for much more interaction that night. And besides, being with Audrey was nice even if they were just silently existing side-by-side.
It was nice enough that by the time they reached the door to her quarters, Seymour found that even if he usually spent these days longing for the moment he could get back to his room and spend some time alone, he now wished he could think of some reason, any reason, why they wouldn't have to part yet.
"I had a wonderful time tonight." Audrey whispered. "I'm so glad you invited me."
Seymour couldn't say anything in response. He was having the very odd sensation of feeling like he had a million things to tell her while not being able to come up with a single word.
"Goodnight, Seymour."
With a last, fond smile for the night, Audrey stepped into her room. Seymour didn't manage to find his voice until the door had already slid shut.
"Goodnight... Audrey..."